Over £23,600 raised in 2 weeks to tackle hunger

During a time of rising hunger in Scotland, Cyrenians’ Food Is The First Step campaign has raised over £23,600 for support that not only meets the immediate need for access to food, but helps provide a solid foundation to build to a more positive future. 

With 1 in 5 people in South-East Scotland skipping meals to pay the bills according to recent independent research conducted by Cyrenians, hunger is the most immediate crisis for an increasing number of people involved in Cyrenians services. When you’re hungry you can’t participate fully, whether that’s at work, school, home or in your community - it's hard to find the energy and resources to tackle other issues, like unemployment, health issues or trauma, when you’re not sure where your next meal will come from. 

This summer, Cyrenians said that Food is the First Step – through offering dignified access to food and the opportunity to gather around the table, we can create a solid foundation to tackle life’s challenges. We asked our local community to come together and help us make sure that the food and community support we’re already offering, from redistributing surplus food to communities in need across Central and South East Scotland, to coordinating pantries and lunch clubs across the region, is able to keep growing to meet the rising need for support. 

Corporate partnerships also played a huge role in supporting Cyrenians’ response to the crisis. As well as providing financial support, groups from several organisations joined the team at the Depot to help organise and deliver food and groceries directly to the charities and community groups who rely on Cyrenians’ food redistribution work. 

With the help of both corporate and individual supporters, the Food is the First Step appeal raised a grand total of £23,645.25 - enough to distribute 95,000 meals to those in need.  

The generosity of Cyrenians’ supporters is not just allowing us to continue and expand the support we can offer to those facing the brunt of the cost of living crisis – it's also a powerful demonstration of the strong will for change. Confronting the unnecessary cruelty of rising poverty and hardship takes a community-wide response, and every individual and organisation contributing time or money to help deliver sustainable support is demonstrating how unwilling we are to accept this injustice.